Analeigh SterninCrane
by LilithFanBebeNeuwrotic
Summary: Analeigh is the daughter of Dr. Lilith Sternin...and Dr. Frasier Crane. When Lilith got pregnant, she decided not to tell Frasier. It only made since seeing as they had just moved on from each other. Now fifteen years later, Analeigh has learned the truth and decides to take matters into her own hands. Determined to meet her father, she'll stop at nothing to find him.
1. Prologue

**So I hope that I did pretty good with this chapter. I'm simply going on the few episodes of "Cheers" and "Frasier" that I've seen. If I mess up some major points, feel free to put it in a review or message me, but don't be too hard on me.**

Prologue

As the clock struck midnight, I quietly slipped out of bed. I pulled my suitcase out from underneath my bed and slipped out into the hallway. I went quickly, but paused when I came to my mother's room. I knew that I needed to leave before I lost my nerve, and that Diane was waiting for me at the end of the driveway.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Even though she kept one of the biggest secrets of my life from me, I still loved her. I don't know why she did it, but I'm sure she had her reasons. There's no way that she didn't spend hours or even days balancing all of the possible consequences. But, now it was my turn. I had to know the truth.

I left quickly, but quietly, and met Diane at the end of the driveway.

"Thank you so much, Aunt Di." I said as I got in.

"Analeigh Sternin, I don't know how I let you talk me into this." She sighed as she pulled out.

"All I'm asking is for you to take me to the airport." I reminded her. " That reminds me, you have my ticket, right?"

"Yeah it's in my purse." I reached in her purse and found my ticket, but there was an extra.

"Why are there two?"

"Did you really think I was going to send you across the country alone?" She asked. "Analeigh, you're only fifteen. And I'm not questioning your capability, but San Francisco is a big city and you need to be chaperoned. Lilith is probably going to have my head when she finds out that I helped you, and I don't want to know what she'd do to me if you got hurt."

I guess she was right. To be honest, I was glad that she was coming with me. I don't think I'll want to be alone when I meet my father.


	2. I Know Something You Don't Know

Chapter One

"Analeigh," My mother called. "There's a candle missing for the menorah. Will you go see if it fell out upstairs?"

"Fine." I sighed. I put down my book and went up to the attic.

I fumbled around the hot, stuffy attic trying to find the light switch. In the process, I tripped over a box and fell on my face. I flipped the switch on the wall and tried to gather the fallen items back in the box. As I saw the items, I realized that a lot of them were essays that I had written or pictures I had drawn; I guess this was where my mom put stuff after it came off of the fridge. There was a photo album too. There were various pictures of my life: a page for embarrassing school pictures, pictures of me and Frederick, etc. There was even a picture of my mom holding me at the hospital after I was born.

I continued to look through the pictures and put things back in the box. I found a file folder and opened it up. I was expecting to see a collection of report cards but instead I saw something very different: my birth certificate.

For most of my life it was just me, my mom, and Frederick. Well, besides the few years she was married to Brian. Brian was the closest thing to a dad that I ever really experienced, but I knew that he wasn't my real father. Their marriage only lasted a few years and after that, my mom never really had another serious relationship. I know that she did the best that she could raising both Frederick and myself, but I always wondered how my life would be different if Brian had stuck around or if I knew my real father. Even though me and my mom have gotten closer in the past two years since Frederick moved out to college, my father was still a taboo topic of discussion.

I'm not sure what I was expecting to see. There was my name, Analeigh Danielle Sternin; My mom's name, Lilith Sternin; and under the father's name I was expecting to see, I don't know, some random guy's name or maybe "N/A". But I had heard this name: Frasier Crane.

That was Frederick's dad. My dad, too, I guess.

I quickly shoved everything back into the box and began searching for that darn candle. Why didn't she tell me? Why did Frederick get to visit him and not me? Does he even know? What did Mom tell Frederick? Am I the only one out of the loop?

After finding the candle, I went down to the living room and stuck it on the menorah.

"Hey, you found it!" My mom said with a smile. Should I confront her about it? She probably would have told me if she had wanted me to know.

"Yeah." I said. "Frederick's coming home tomorrow, right?" I asked.

"He is. He's bringing Krysta, too." Krysta was Frederick's fiancee. They had been dating for a year and a half when Frederick popped the question. They'd be getting married the summer after graduation.I wondered if Frederick knew that we had the same dad, and if he did what he would tell me.

My mind kept spinning over the information I had learned. Day turned to night, and night turned to day and the next thing I knew, Frederick and Krysta were pulling in the driveway.

"Hey, Ana." Frederick greeted when he came into the living room.

"Analeigh. My name is Analeigh."I returned. "Krysta, it's always nice to see you."

"And you, too." She said with a smile.

"Where's Mom?" Frederick asked.

"Out." I said simply. "We weren't expecting you until five."

"Sorry. We had accounted for traffic, but there wasn't any." Frederick went outside to get their bags from the car.

" How's the wedding planning going?" I asked Krysta.

"Pretty well." She said as she sat down next to me. "I was hoping that you and your mother would come with me and my mom next month when I go to try on wedding dresses."

"Fun." I said, facetiously.

"Please. I'd really like your opinion." She gave me those big, brown doe eyes. "You have such a great sense of style."

"Flattery will get everywhere." I sighed. Frederick came in with the bags and headed up to his old room, which had been turned into a guest room.

"Excuse me." I said to Krysta as I got up from the couch.

I ran up to the guest room and closed the door behind me. Frederick jumped a little when he saw me.

"Sorry." I said quickly, ready to talk about what I came up here for. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"I was up in the attic yesterday-"

"What were you doing in the attic?"

"I was looking for a candle that had fallen off the menorah. Why does it matter?" I said. Frederick just had to question everybody's motives, it was so annoying.

I went on to tell him everything that had happened yesterday and how I had found my birth certificate.

"Analeigh, everyone has a birth certificate-"

"I know that, nimrod." I snapped. "It's what was on it. Where the name of the father is supposed to be listed, your dad's name is there."

I waited to see his face change into a look of shock, or horror that we were actually related. Instead his face showed guilt.

"You knew?" I shouted. He quickly covered my mouth. "You knew?" I whispered this time.

"Yeah, I knew." I sighed. "Mom told me everything when she got pregnant with you. She told me that she thought it would be best if neither you nor Dad knew."

"He doesn't even know I exist?"

"I wasn't supposed to say anything to Dad when I went to visit him." He said. "And I definitely was not supposed to tell you."

"Was there ever a part of this master plan where I found out?" I was suddenly angry, but tried my best not to let it show.

"Look, I don't know-"

"Did you invite him to the wedding?" I interrogated. "Did you ever think that I was going to be there and that he was going to be there and that maybe we would end up figuring it out? Either that or I'm just not supposed to act like your sister and Mom's just gonna ignore me the entire time."

"I'm sure she didn't have that figured out. I mean, I was only five at the time-"

"Frederick, this is Mom we're talking about." I reminded. "I'm pretty sure she thought everything through up to her death."

Suddenly the alarm chimed and we could hear the garage door open.

"You and me are gonna talk about this later." I said as I opened the door and went to greet my mother.

When she came in, I gave her a hug and took the grocery bags out of her hand.

"Hello darling." She kissed me on the forehead.

_Act normal,_ I reminded myself. _You know nothing._


	3. Covert Affairs

**Before we get started on this new chapter, I would like to thank SamandDianefan10, iloveromance, and LoisAndClarkSuperfan for reviewing and being so supportive of this story. Thanks guys! Also, I have poll up on my profile. The question might seem weird, but my mind has been creating alot of backstory scenes and I was just wondering if you readers would be interested in reading those. (It won't hurt my feelings if you're not :0) ) But, I do plan to post more polls throughout the story so be on the lookout!**

**So, on to the next chapter!**

All through dinner, I had to concentrate on not confronting my mother. Small talk was exhausting anyway, but when something as big as that was gnawing at me from the inside, it became painful.

We were through with dinner by seven-thirty, so I asked Frederick to take me to see Diane at Cheers. He dropped me off and I walked down the stairs and into the bar. Normally Uncle Sam wouldn't let someone so young into his bar, but since I was his goddaughter he made the exception.

"Hey, kiddo." Uncle Sam greeted as he wiped down the counter. " What brings you here?"

"Nothing much," I lied. "Is Aunt Di around?"

"In the office."

I walked to the back and let myself in.

"Aunt Di, I need your help."

"Didn't Lilith teach you how to knock?"

"This is urgent!" I slammed my hands down on the desk. "What do you know about a man named Frasier Crane?"

She stopped typing. In fact, she completely froze.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"I saw it on my birth certificate. He's listed as the father." I said. "What do you know about him?"

She didn't say anything. She started to bite her lip like she was debating whether or not to tell me.

"What, did my mom put you under her gag order, too?"

"Analeigh, yes. I knew your father." She said, turning away from the computer and facing me. "But, the entire thing is a really long story. A story that I will tell you when you're older."

I huffed in frustration. I started to walk out of the office, but I stopped dramatically as I put my hand on the door knob.

"Aunt Di?" I asked, trying to look innocent.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember when you told me that as my godmother, you would always be there for me and that I could always come to you if there was anything that I didn't feel comfortable talking to my mom about and that you would never turn me away and that you would always be honest with me and-"

"Analeigh, don't pull that card." She said. "When I said that I was thinking more along the lines of boyfriends and underwear and things of that nature."

"All I'm saying is that by breaking such a big promise such as the one you made, you are going to single handedly cause me to have a hard time trusting people and I will not have any successful relationships and I will become even more introverted than I already am and I will become a hermit and live alone with nine cats. " I said, throwing my hands up. "Now, is that what you want?"

"You definitely your mother's daughter." She said.

I walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair and propped my feet up, satisfied. "I know."

From there she told me the story of how my parents got together, and how she gave my mom a makeover and my dad realized that he was in love with her. She showed me a recording of a talk show they were both on, and, while most teenagers would be uncomfortable watching their parents make such obvious ineuendoes, all I could focus on was the mystery man sitting opposite my mother who I knew so well. My mind kept thinking that somehow, I was half of each of those people. I kept picking out the physical traits that I inherited from each parent; while I realized that most of them came from my mother ( my fair complexion, my dark hair, my petite stature), my blue eyes came from Frasier Crane.

I was so mesmerized by all of this information Aunt Di was giving me. I found it slightly ironic that the man that was never in my life introduced my mother to all of the people that were so influential in my life. He was the person that brought her to the place that, besides school, I spend more time at than at my own house.

I had always wondered who my dad was and now I was looking right him, well a younger version of him. But know that wonder had been turned into a need.

"Aunt Di, I have to meet him." I blurted out.

"Analeigh, this is why I didn't want to show you. " She said. "You are never satisfied with just a little taste, you want the whole thing."

"I'm just like any other normal human being tring to fill a void." I said. "You can help me fill that void."

"I have shown you way more than I am supposed to anyway, let's not push it." She said, going back to her computer work. "Besides, he ives across the country."

"You know where he lives?" I exclaimed. She winced as if she was realizing that she had said too much.

"I don't know the exact location. The last I heard was that he lives in San Francisco." She said. "And do you really think that you would make it across the country without Lilith noticing?"

"Aunt Di, do you remember when you told me that as my godmother-"

"Analeigh," She interuppted. "I'm sorry, but I can't. You could just wait until Frederick's wedding over the summer. Surely he invited his own father."

"Because I just know that my mom is going to make sure that I don't meet him." I explained. "She isn't going to let fifteen years of trouble go down the drain."

"Analeigh-"

"Please Aunt Di. All I want is to see him in the flesh. Just to meet him." I pleaded. I wasn't even faking it this time, this was real. "Don't you think he deserves to know? Don't you think that he should be able to choose if he wants to get to know me?"

She sighed and put her hands down on the desk.

"Okay. I'll help you."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" I said as I hugged her.

"But you have to figure it out. I will only help you put your plan into motion."

"Sure thing."

I walked out of the office more excited than I have ever been in my entire life. But that went away when I realized what she had said.

How was I going to make it to California and meet my father before my mom could stop me? I sat down at a bar stool and grabbed a napkin and a pen. I had to think like my mom. I had to think about every possible factor that could come into play.

After checking my calendar, doing some research on my phone, and calculating the time difference, I had my plan and went into the office and presented it to Aunt Diane.

"Look," I said. "It takes about six hours to fly from Boston to San Francisco. We'll say that it will take us about an hour to get through security. That's seven hours and fifteen minutes from my house to San Francisco. I'll find his address in the Whitepages, that way we can have it and go right to his place when we get off of the plane."

"And what about your mother?"

"I'm getting to that part. Being on the east coast, we are three hours ahead of him on the west coast. We need to leave on a Monday, that's my mom's day off. She'll sleep in until about eleven or twelve. That will give us plenty of time to get there without being caught."

"How exactly?"

"Now, stay with me here. If we leave at midnight, it will be nine at night for him. It will take us about seven hours to get there, meaning that it will be around four in the morning west coast time. We'll have time to check into a hotel and rest for about two and half hours. But, we need to get an early start in finding him before he leaves for work.

"By this time we have an hour, maybe two, before my mom wakes up on the east coast. That should give us just enough time for me to meet him and get to talk to him. When my mom wakes up, she will probably take about thirty minutes to realize that I'm not there. If she calls, I'll just tell her we decided to go shopping and probably won't be back till late that night so I'll probably just crash at your place. If we leave San Francisco at ten that morning, it will take us another six hours to get back. With the time change, we should be back in Boston by seven p.m. eastern time."

"You told her we were going shopping, she'll expect us to come back with the things we bought." Aunt Di pointed out.

"I said that we would get back at seven our time. That's plenty of time to go shopping."

"What about school? The school will call if you have an unexcused absence."

"Winter break is coming up, we'll go then. During the downtime between Christmas and New Year's."

She sighed in what I was hoping was defeat. I had only spent thirty minutes making this plan and she couldn't find a flaw, I was quite proud.

"Fine." She finally said. "You win. I'll take you."

"And my mother will be none the wiser." I said with a smile. "I just hope that it goes as easily in real life as it did on paper."

"Me too."

I looked a the clock and realized what time it was.

"I have to go home, will you drive me?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said, handing me the keys. "You head on out there, I have to finish this real quick and I'll be out there in a minute."

I took the keys and walked out of the office. I waved goodbye to Uncle Sam. While I did so, I didn't see where I was going and ran right into a waiter.

"Sorry, " I said, picking up the cracked coffee mugs. Luckily there wasn't anything in them.

"It's fine." The young man said, his hands moving in what I recognized as sign laguage when he talked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I said, signing as well. "Are you deaf?"

He nodded. "You?"

"No. I just like signing." I admitted.

About a year ago, my mother took me to a lunch with one of her colleagues over the summer. His wife was an ASL interpreter and taught me a some. Since then, I've been absolutely in love with sign language and continued to learn new signs.

"My name's Adam." He signed. "My Uncle owns Cheers."

"Analeigh." I signed. "Sam and Diane are my godparents."

We got up off of the floor and he walked me to the door.

"It was nice meeting you." He said. "Will I see you around?"

"Yeah."

With that, I walked up the stairs and around the corner to Aunt Di's car. I unlocked it and got into the passenger side and turned on the radio. My mind was no longer focused on meeting my father (but I still wanted to do that), but on getting to know more about Adam.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Sorry about the late update. I was hoping to post it last week, but it just flew by and this weeks was jam packed. Anyway, now that you've read it, please review!**


	4. Class Act

Chapter 3

As Diane drove me home, she explained that Adam was going to be staying with Sam for a while and that his parents had enrolled him in Marbury for next semester.

"His dad got a job offer in Nevada and Adam wanted to stay closer to home, so Sam offered to let him stay with him." Diane went on.

"How old is he?"

"He's just turned sixteen. But he'll be in you're grade. He got held back a year after he went deaf."

I didn't want to pry, but I wondered how Adam had gone deaf. I knew it was none of my business, but I was still interested.

Diane pulled up to my house and I opened the door.

"Diane?" I said before getting out.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For you know, helping me."

"You're welcome."

I got out and closed the door behind me. I opened the door and walked into the kitchen. I heard laughter: an uncommon sound in my home.

I peaked my head into the living room to see my mother and Chris. That explained it.

Chris was my mom's boyfriend. He was a pediatric surgeon at Boston General where my mom works. She said that she bumped into him at the snack machine.

He got the last bag of kettle chips, which was what she had planned on getting. He offered to share the bag, and since she didn't have another patient for the next thirty minutes, she went against her instincts and accepted.

They went out on a few dates and saw each other alot at work, not too long after that she brought him home to meet Frederick and me.

I was already prepared for the fact that I wasn't going to like him. I didn't like any of the guys my mom brought home, and most of the time the feeling was mutual.

But Chris was different. He looked kinda funny with his balding head and his hipster style glasses even though he was in his late forties. He even had a sense of humor, a rare quality in my mother's companions. He just kinda fit into our family, like he belonged.

And three years later he was still here.

"Hey, Analeigh!" He greeted enthusiastically. " We were just about to play Scrabble. Would you like to join?"

I hated Scrabble, mainly because my vocabulary wasn't jam-packed with SAT words like the rest of my family. But, I was glad he offered.

"Actually, as tempting as that sounds, I think I'm gonna go to bed." I said. " Goodnight."

"Goodnight." They both said.

I logged onto my computer and did a Google search on Frasier Crane. Apparently, he was kind of a big deal on the west coast; he used to have his own radio show and now he was on TV. He was a Harvard graduate, a lover of the fine arts and very successful Freudian psychologist.

"Maybe that's why they got divorced," I mumbled, remembering my mother's great distaste for Frued's theories.

On some aspects, I agreed with my mother's practices in psychology: looking at things simply for what they are and taking them at face value. Rather than thinking that everything is linked to a traumatic childhood experience. But, in some cases that might just be the problem.

After getting his apartment number and building name from the whitepages, I turned off my computer and went to bed.

* * *

At long last, the final day of the semester was here. The hallways were practically empty considering that about half the school had decided to start their winter break early. Since there were so few students and the teachers were past the point of caring, it took advantage of the relaxed rules and stayed in one classroom the whole day.

Most kids would hate being stuck in one classroom all day, but it was my favorite class and my favorite teacher: Mrs. Culver's Debate class.

Even though I didn't have debate team until the last class of the day, she said I could stay. I mainly helped her clean up and organize text books. I really enjoyed being in her classroom. This classroom was really like home to me. I had had Mrs. Culver for advanced English last year, and now as a sophomore, I was in her debate class. Mrs. Culver was just so funny and kind, and not just as a teacher but as a human being in general. I kind of considered her friend almost. I knew that I could always talk to her.

But, I decided to keep the recent news about my father to myself for now.

When the day was over, I wished Mrs. Culver a happy holiday season and went to the carpool line.

My mom picked me up and we drove home.

"How was you're day?"

"It was good; peaceful. I spent the whole day in 's room."

"Of course." She laughed. "You've always loved her."

I had my mom drop me off at Cheers on her way back to work. I walked in to the bar and sat on the counter.

"How's it going Sammy?" I asked as I reached over the counter and into the fridge to get a Coke.

"Pretty good, Analeigh."

"Hey, Analeigh!" Carla called.

"Yeah?" I called back.

" Would you mind helping me out? This place is packed and Diane took the day off."

"I don't know..."

"You can keep the tips."

"Okay!" I put on an apron and started serving.

Before I knew it, three hours had passed and I had made close to one hundred dollars in tips. As I came back from serving a couple of beers in the pool room, I walked over to the bar to fill the next order. Then my mom walked in, I she must have gotten off early from work.

I panicked, setting down the tray and notepad and started to untie the apron.

"Analeigh Danielle Sternin!" My mother called, I knew I was in trouble. "What are you doing?"

"Um. nothing?" I stammered.

Carla came in from the office, and as soon as she saw my mom she turned back around.

"Carla, come back here!" My mother called.

"Look, Lilith-" She started.

"Carla, I have told you that I do not want you using my daughter as free labor."

"I was getting the tips."

"I don't care. One, it's illegal for a minor to serve alcohol. Two, I do not want my daughter to think that this is a valid career option."

"Mother!" I said. I couldn't believe she was being so rude to Carla. I knew I had to think of something to help Carla from the wrath of my mother. "You should be thanking Carla!"

"And why is that?"

"Because..." I stammered. "Because she was teaching me a life lesson."

"Oh really?" My mother feigned mock- interest."

"That's right." I said, the story starting to come together in my head. " I told Carla that I was thinking about getting on the pill because I was planning on becoming sexually active with a boy from school. She told me that I need to wait to have sex until I'm married because sometimes the pill doesn't work and I could get pregnant... and if I got pregnant the dad would probably leave me... and I would end up having to work here because I didn't have a high school diploma. To prove a point she decided to have me work and realize just how hard being a waitress is." I turned to Carla. " Thank you Carla. I know now that I will most definitely be staying abstinent until I get married _after_ college."

"Good." Was all Carla could say.

"Oh, well..." My mother said, taken aback by my well told story. " In that case, thank you Carla. I appreciate it. And I apologize for my harsh judgement."

"Don't mention it."

I went back into the office with Carla.

"That was quite a show, kid."

"Thank you." I bowed.

"But for real, I can't thank you enough for covering for me. I owe you one."

"How about you give me twenty and we call it even?"

"Deal." She smiled.


	5. Honesty is the Best Policy

**Hi! I would like to thank Dulcineah (Dulcey), mkat, and LoisandClarkSuperfan for reviewing on the last chapter. Before we start, I wanted to note that whenever Adam is talking, assume that he is speaking and signing at the same time. And when Analeigh is talking to or around Adam, she is also signing and speaking. Also, I forgot to mention that in the first couple of chapters, I went back and did some revising so that the story would work better. Among these changes are:**

**- Frederick was five when Analeigh was born, not fourteen.  
- Analeigh did not leave a note when she snuck out in the prologue**

**Those are the only ones that I can think of right now. I would recommend re reading those chapters if you have been following this story since it was published, just in case I forgot any. Anyway, enjoy!**

After walking out of the office, my mother called me over.

"What I came here to tell you is that Chris invited us to dinner tonight upstairs at Melville's." She said. "You need to be up there by seven, that gives you two hours."

"Do I have to?" I asked.

"Yes." She answered quickly. "Chris says that he has some very big news to tell us and he wants everyone there."

"Fine." I said.

"What's wrong?" She asked, genuinely this time. "I thought you liked Chris."

"I do." I said. "It's just, it feels like he's always around. He came over every day during Hanukkah and nearly every day on a regular basis. It's like whenever we do something, he has to come, too."

"Analeigh," She sighed. "I can understand that you would feel that way. But, I don't know about you, but I want him to be around for a long time. I want him to feel like he's a part of our family; I want him to _be_ a part of our family."

"Mom, how am I supposed to accept him as a father- figure, when I don't even know who my real father is?" I asked. She didn't answer. She sighed and looked up at nothing in particular.

"Be upstairs by seven." She said finally. She quickly got up and left.

I sighed and walked back to the pool room.

"Hey there, kiddo." Sam said, lining up the cue ball. "What's up?"

"Nothing." I lied. I saw Adam across the room, grabbing a pool stick.

I sat on a stool, watching them play. I started to think about tonight.

What could Chris' big news be? What if he was planning on proposing to my mom? What if she said yes? What if she said no because of what I just said? What if I just ruined everything?

I felt my chest start to feel heavy and my breath feel shorter and quicker. I was brought back to reality when Adam came over and asked me what was wrong.

"Nothing," I said. "Just thinking too hard."

He seemed sort of confused but went with it. For some reason, I got this crazy burst of confidence.

"Do you want to come to dinner with me and my family?" I asked.

"Uh, sure. " He said. "Would your parents be okay with it?"

"I don't see why not. It's gonna be my mom and her boyfriend, my brother and his fiancee," I said. "And then I'd end up being the odd man out. Please?"

"Would you mind if I took off, Sam?" Adam asked.

"Go ahead." He said, taking a shot. "Business is kinda slow tonight anyway."

We headed upstairs to Melville's. We got a table for six and waited for everyone else.

"What time is your family going to be here?" He asked.

"It's only six fifty, so within the next ten minutes or so."

That's when Chris and my mom showed up. "Speak of the devil."

I waved over at them to get their attention. When they saw me they smiled, but their expressions quickly changed when Adam stood up next to me.

"Hey, Analeigh." Chris greeted. "I didn't know you invited a friend."

"I figured you wouldn't mind." I said, feeling rebellious. "I figured it would be fun having a conversation you guys can't understand, for a change."

They looked confused.

"Adam, this is my mom, Dr. Lilith Sternin. " I said, fingerspelling her name. "And this is Chris, her boyfriend."

"It's nice to meet you." He said. His speech wasn't as concrete as that of a hearing person, but very impressive for that of a deaf person. "I'm Adam Malone."

"Adam is deaf." I said simply.

"Well," Chris said. "Frederick and Krysta ought to be here soon."

We sat down at the table. I had to interpret nearly everything Adam said, since my mom and Chris had a hard time understanding him. When Frederick and Krysta arrived, I introduced them to Adam and enjoyed the initial shock on their faces.

While Chris and Frederick talked about God-knows-what involving medicine and my mother and Krysta talked about wedding plans, Adam and I talked about him going to Marbury next semester. There were times during the dinner when we would all talk about the same thing, but it wouldn't last for long.

After dessert was served, Chris gathered our attention.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what my big announcement is, right?" He said. I interpreted for Adam, since he had a hard time reading Chris' lips.

"Yes." We all said.

"Well," He looked at my mom.

Oh no. He was going to do it. I was sure of it. He was about to ask my mom to marry him.

"Oh, Chris." My mom said. "Please cut the suspense, it's killing us all."

"Not quickly enough." I signed to Adam. He laughed quietly.

"I got your book published!" He said excitedly.

"What?" We all said.

"Why? She said, less than excited.

"What book?" I asked.

"I thought you'd be happy." Chris said. "You've been working on it for so long."

"What book?" I asked again.

"I wrote a book, but I wasn't sure if I should publish it." She looked at Chris pointedly. "It was about you."

"What!?" I asked. "What do you mean it was about me?"

"It was a book on raising an introverted child. " She admitted. "Raising an introverted child in general and also when you have an extroverted child, like Frederick."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it seemed like a good idea at the time."

_Like deciding not to tell my father that I existed?_ I thought.

"My editor said that it was a good idea, so I started writing it." She said. "But, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through with publishing it."

I got up and walked outside, Adam came after me.

"Hey, why are you so upset?" He asked.

"I don't know." I said, honestly. "I just don't understand why she would write something about me, without telling me. I don't know what she wrote or what's in there."

"I guess that makes sense." He said. "Are you gonna be okay? Do you want to go back inside?"

"Not really." I don't know why I was being so honest with him. "But, I guess I have to eventually."

He opened his arms and smiled. He hugged me and I hugged him back. We just stood there for a minute, in silence. Then I saw my mom come outside. I broke the hug and pointed to my mom.

"Um, we're going home." She said awkwardly. I could tell she was upset.

"I've got to go." I said to Adam. "I'll see you later."

"Okay." He smiled. He hugged me again and went down the stairs to Cheers.


	6. Christmas Wishes

**Okay, this chapter is a little shorter but I'm making up for it by posting this one along with the chapter everyone's been waiting for: She goes to San Francisco to meet Frasier! Enjoy!**

The car ride home was silent. The radio was turned off and no one was brave enough to say anything. I knew why I didn't want the book published, but I didn't know why my mom didn't want it published.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized it. If she published the book, there was a chance Frasier would see it and find out what she had worked so hard to keep from him.

When Chris pulled up to the house, Frederick and Krista were already home. I got out of the car and went inside, but my mom stayed in the car with Chris.

I looked out the window from the living room. I could see inside the car from where I was. They were talking. Not yelling or arguing, but just talking. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but after a minute or two, they kissed each other goodnight and she got out of the car.

I got away from the window and headed up to my room. I kicked off my shoes and got out my pajamas. I heard my mother come up the stairs and head to her room across the hall from mine. I went to her room and leaned on the door frame.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. She sat on her bed and faced me.

"Everything's alright." She said with a small smile.

I walked over to the bed and sat with her. She put her arms around me and kissed the top of my head. Every time I started to get mad at her, I just couldn't. I was so mad at her earlier for no telling me the truth. But it's moments like this when I remember that she's my mom and I love her. But I still want to know the truth.

"Mom?" I asked.

"Yes?" She said, pulling away slightly to look at me.

"Why won't you tell me about my father?"

"Analeigh, we've been over this-"

"No, we haven't, Mom." I said. "Every time I bring it up, you blow it off."

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"You've told me that since I was five." I said. " I'm not five anymore, Mom."

"Sweetheart, you wouldn't understand." She sighed. "It's a very complicated situation."

"Fine." I give up for now. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight. I love you."

"Love you, too."

* * *

A few days later, it was Christmas. Not that we celebrated it, but I did send a text to all of my Gentile friends wishing them a Merry Christmas.

Around noon, Mom went out with Chris for the day while I stayed home with Frederick and Krysta. I was in my room watching TV when the house phone rang. I looked at the caller ID: Crane, Frasier.

The phone stopped ringing after two rings, so I guessed that Frederick had picked up.

Suddenly I realized the reality of what was happening; my father was on the other end of the line. It seemed surreal, though. Yeah, I had seen pictures and a video of him, but it was like seeing a celebrity in a magazine and TV all your life and then actually meeting them; that feeling of "He really is a real person."

I picked up the phone and held my breath as I listened in.

"Hey Freddy!" Frasier's happy voice greeted. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dad." Fredrick said.

"How's everything over there? How's your mom and everyone at Cheers?"

"Everything's great." Frederick said, trying not to sound nervous. He was probably debating whether or not to tell him about me. "Mom's out with Chris right now. How's everything with you?"

"It's been pretty good lately. I'm visiting with Niles, Daphne, Grandpa, and Ronee for the holidays. They all say 'Hi'."

"Maybe Krysta and I can join you guys next year." Frederick laughed.

"That'd be great!" Frasier said. "Or we could all come visit you and your mother in Boston if you want."

"We'll see." He sounded slightly nervous again.

"Well, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas since I couldn't see you this year." Frasier said, almost sad. "I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad." Frederick said. "Tell everyone I said Merry Christmas."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

With that they hung up, and I did the same putting the phone away.

He sounded older than he did in the video Diane showed me, but he sounded so happy talking with Frederick. I wondered if he'd sound that happy talking to me.


	7. You've Got to Be Kidding Me

**Here we go, the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

As it got closer to the day that Diane and I had planned to leave, each day seemed to last longer and longer.

With each passing day, I got more and more nervous about leaving. I always tried to distract myself from my anxiety by talking with Adam.

But, eventually the day came.

As the clock struck midnight, I quietly slipped out of my bed. I pulled my suitcase out from underneath my bed and slipped out into the hallway. I went quickly, but paused when I got to my mother's room. I knew that I needed to leave before I lost my nerve, and that Diane was waiting for me at the end of the driveway.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Even though she kept one of the biggest secrets of my life from me, I still loved her. I don't know why she did it, but I'm sure she had her reasons. There's no way she didn't spend hours or even days balancing all of the possible consequences. But, now it was my turn. I had to know the truth.

I left quickly, but quietly, and met Diane at the end of the driveway.

"Thank you so much, Aunt Di." I said as I got in.

"Analeigh Sternin, I don't know how I let you talk me into this." She sighed as she pulled out.

"All I'm asking is for you to take me to the airport." I reminded her. "That reminds me, you have my ticket, right?"

"Yeah it's in my purse." I reached into her purse and found my ticket, but there was an extra.

"Why are there two?"

"Did you really think I was going to send you across the country alone?" She asked. "Analeigh, you're only fifteen. And I'm not questioning your capability, but San Francisco is a big city and you need to be chaperoned. Lilith is probably going to have my head when she finds out that I helped you, and I don't want to know what she'd do to me if you got hurt."

I guess she was right, To be honest, I was glad that she was coming with me. I don't think I'd want to be alone when I meet my father.

We drove to the airport and caught our flight. Since it was so early, it was a pretty quiet ride.

With a seven hour flight, I had a lot of time to think. I thought a lot about my mom and why she did what she did. I still had no answer.

I thought about Diane, and how she seemed to have her life together pretty well. She managed Cheers while writing children's books on the side, she seemed to have a pretty good romantic life seeing as she was always dating someone, she had a great friendship with Sam, too. That impressed me because I knew that story.

I met Diane when I was about three. She had come back to Boston from California. I was playing around the bar while my mother sat at a table with a cup of coffee working on a paper or a patient file or something. We did that a lot when I was younger.

Diane came in and I remember thinking that she was really pretty. Sam had told me that whenever a pretty lady came into the bar, I should tell them to go see my Uncle Sammy.

Sam was facing away from us, talking to Cliff and Norm, their faces were frozen with shock.

"Uncle Sam, look there's a pretty lady here!" I said as I ran behind the bar next to him.

He turned around and as soon as he saw her, he dropped the glass that he had been drying. The glass shattered and I screamed as a small shard flew into my leg.

My mom came running over, picked me up and set me on a bar stool to look at my leg.

"Lilith, I am so sorry! I didn't see her there, she's so small, you know?" Sam apologized.

"It's fine, Sam. Will you hand me your first aid kit?" She said, preoccupied with looking at my leg.

"Diane, what are you doing in Boston?" Sam asked.

"I've decided to move back for a while." She said, sitting down at the bar near me."I hope I still have friends here at Cheers."

"Of course." He said.

My mother had extracted the glass from my leg and put a bandage over it. She put the first aid kit back behind the bar.

"Mommy?" I said as she picked me up.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Who's that lady?"

"Her name is Diane." She said. "She's a friend of Uncle Sam's."

"Oh, Lilith!" Diane said. "I do regret not being able to see you the last time I was in town. I hope we're still on good terms."

"Of course." My mother said.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Frasier." She went on. "You know I visited him not too long ago. He talked a lot about your son, Frederick. He didn't mention that you were remarried."

"I'm not." My mother started to seem a little nervous.

"This is your daughter, isn't she?"

"Yes. Her name is Analeigh."

"Forgive me, but I don't think I understand."

"It's a very complicated situation I'd be happy to tell you about later. But, right now I need to pick up Frederick from school."

I guess they talked later that night. All I know is that I saw Diane a lot after that.

"Diane," I asked, coming back to the present. "How come you and Same never got back together?"

"We just weren't right for each other. It took us a while to figure that out, though." She said. "We were just better off being close friends."

Our plane landed about an hour after that. We grabbed out luggage and caught a cab to go to a hotel. On the way there, my mom called.

"Analeigh Danielle Sternin, where are you?" She asked.

"I'm with Diane. Everything's alright." I said.

"Where are you?"

"I'm not exactly sure. We're somewhere west of Boston." Way west of Boston. "She picked me up this morning and we decided to go shopping. We'll probably be back really late tonight, so she said it was okay for me to crash at her place."

"Oh, okay." She started to calm down. "Well, next time, please let me know ahead of time. And call me when you get back."

"I will." I said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too. Have fun."

We got a room and chilled out for a while. After about an hour, we went to see Frasier.

I gave the cab driver the address and we were off. My heart was pounding the entire way there. I couldn't believe it was actually happening: I was going to meet my father.

We walked into the lobby of the apartment building.

"Excuse me, miss?" The desk clerk asked. "May I help you?"

"I'm here to see Dr. Crane."

"I'm afraid Dr. Crane is out of town for the holiday season. He'll be gone through the New Year."

"What?" I said in shock. I didn't come all this way for nothing. "Where is he?"

"I'm not allowed to give out that information."

"Please, I need to know."

"I am not permitted to give out the whereabouts of our residents to anyone but family."

"I'm his daughter." I blurted out.

"Dr. Crane never said anything about having a daughter." He looked puzzled.

"Because he didn't know. In fact I didn't know until a few weeks ago." I said. "Besides, why would he tell you? Now then, if you don't mind, I'm on a time crunch and I really need to know where he is."

He thought about it for a minute. Eventually, he sighed in defeat.

"He's visiting his brother, Dr. Niles Crane."

"Where?" I urged.

"Seattle."

You have _got_ to be kidding me.

**Oooh! Plot twist! That's what happens when I don't get any reviews! :)**


	8. Hey Baby I Hear the Blues a Calling

Yay! Lots of reviews! thanks to mkat, Crazy Writter and iloveromance for the reviews. here you go!

Diane and I walked out of the apartment complex and onto the sidewalk.

"How are we gonna make it to Seattle?" I asked to no one in particular. "That wasn't part of the plan!"

"We aren't going to make it." Diane said. "We're going back to Boston. This has been too risky already, let's not push it."

"What do you mean we're going back to Boston? We didn't come all this way for nothing!"

"Analeigh, I'm sorry." She said, hailing a taxi. "You're just going to have to figure out some other way to meet him. Preferably, not involving me next time."

We got in a cab and headed to the airport. The whole time while we waited for our flight, I kept trying to find some way of convincing Diane to let me go to Seattle. Nothing worked.

"It's only a two hour flight." I pleaded.

"No. That's final."

I sat next to Diane as we waited for the next flight back to Boston. I looked around the airport, trying to find some way to convince her. I looked at the times that the next flights would be departing. Los Angeles: twenty minutes. Las Vegas: thirty minutes. Seattle: fifteen minutes.

I knew there was no convincing Diane. Apparently, I'd just have to take matters into my own hands.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I lied.

I got up and went towards the bathrooms. I paused and made a detour over to the ticket counter.

"Hi," I said. "Are there any more tickets for the next flight to Seattle?"

The lady typed and clicked around on the computer for a few seconds.

"We have three left."

"I'll take one, thank you." I bought the ticket and put it in my jacket pocket.

It was now or never. There were eight minutes left until the flight for Seattle left. I walked over to Diane and grabbed my duffel bag.

"I think I'm gonna go look at someof the shops. I'll meet you at the terminal, okay?"

"Okay, be careful."

"I will."

I walked towards the terminal for the flight to Seattle.

Act natural, I thought to myself. I handed the flight attendant my ticket and she pointed me to my seat. I sat there, trying to calm myself. I'm not a criminal, everything's fine.

The pilot came over the intercom and told us that we were about to depart. As soon as the flight took off, I felt relief. When we were allowed to use our phones again, I got mine out and texted Diane.

"I'm going to Seattle. I'm tired of waiting, sorry."

The flight went by quickly. Diane told me that she would be on the next flight to Seattle to get me. Hopefully by then, I'll have already met my father.

I used my phone to look up Niles's address. Some fancy building called the Montana. I got a taxi and told him where I was going.

When I arrived, I got out and went around the back. I didn't feel like dealing with another desk clerk. As I went around, I looked for a way in. There was a door, but it had a code needed to get in. I heard someone coming and hid behind the corner.

It was a woman, she looked to be in her mid thirties, light brown hair. She was carrying a few bags of groceries. She punched in the code and went to open the door. I saw my chance and took it.

"Excuse me, miss?" I said, walking up to her. "Would you like some help?"

"Why yes, thank you."

I took one of the bags and followed her in to the building. "Is that a British accent?" I asked.

"It is." She smiled. "I'm actually from-"

"Manchester, am I right?"

"Yes." She looked surprised. "How'd you know that?"

"My mom had a coworker from there a few years ago." I said. I followed her into the elevator. "I'm Analeigh, by the way."

"Daphne."She said. "I don't beleive I've seen you around before, when did you move in?"

"I'm actually here on a surprise visit."

"Oh, really?" We walked out of the elevator and she opened the door to the apartment. "Who are you visitng?"

"Dr. Crane." I said. I followed her intothe kitchen and set down the bags.

"What a coincidence!" She laughed. "Me husband is ."

"That is a coincidence." I said, almost in shock. So, this was my stepmom? I guess it could be worse. "Speaking of him, is he around?"

"He actually went out with his brother and our son for the afternoon. He should be back soon though." She said, putting things away. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you know Dr. Crane?"

"Well, it's kinda complicated." I stumbled over what to say. "I actually don't _know _him, but I need to meet him."

"Oh?" She turned around.

"I'm his daughter." I said quickly.

She froze. "And, um, who's your mother?"

"Dr. Lilith Sternin."

"That...that...ugh!" She was suddenly very angry. "He never told me that he had slept with her!"

"I'm really sorry." I said. "I just found out a few weeks ago. My mom never told me. She doesn't even know I'm here."

I heard the front door of the apartment open up.

"Daphne, we're home!" A cheerful voice called.

"Would you mind staying in here while I talk to him?" Daphne asked quietly.

"Of course not."

She left the kitchen and went into the living room. When she left, I went to the door and listened.

"David, sweetheart, would you please go up to your room while Mommy and Daddy have a little talk?"

"Okay." The little boy answered.

"What are we talking about?" A different voice asked.

"Did you sleep with Lilith?"

"Where did that come from, Daphne-"

"Did you?"

"Yes." He sighed. "But it was a long time ago, before we were together. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'll have you know, Niles-"

"Wait, wait!" I said, rushing into the living room. "I'm really sorry. This is a big misunderstanding."

"But, you said that was your father." Daphne said, confused.

"Not that Dr. Crane," I faced Frasier. It was surreal to see him in the flesh. "This Dr. Crane."

* * *

His face was full of shock. He didn't speak for a few minutes.

"My name's Analeigh." I said. "I'm your daughter."

"Oh my God." He said as he continued to stare at me. "Oh my God!"

"I can explain, I swear!"

"Please do because I, for one, am very confused." He started to raise his voice, not in anger but in confusion.

"My mother is Dr. Lilith Sternin. I have a brother named Frederick."

"Yes, yes."

"I live in Boston." I continued. "A few weeks ago, I was up in the attic and I tripped over some boxes and I found my birth certificate. You're listed as the father."

He let this information soak in for a second.

"How old are you?" He asked suddenly.

Ssixteen."

"When's your birthday?"

"October seventeenth, 1994. I was born early, though"

"Oh my God!" He repeated.

"Frasier, would you like to explain?" Niles asked as he sat on the couch.

"A few months after the divorce was final, Lilith came to Seattle. Do you remember that?"

"Yes."

"She was hoping for reconciliation. The next night, we had planned to eat dinner together." He said. "When I went into her hotel room, one thing led to another and, well," He gestured toward me.

"How does that prove anything?"

"That was in February." He sat back. "Nine months later, she would have been born in November. But October is still close."

"Wow." Niles said.

"I don't understand, though." Frasier got up and started pacing. "I've gone to Boston many times in the last few years and I've never seen you."

"I was probably with my Grandmother or my godmother, Diane."

"Diane who?" He stopped pacing.

"Chambers." I said slowly.

"How ironic!" He collapsed back in the chair. "But even so, whenever Frederick visited with me, he never mentioned you."

"My mom told him not to, I'm guessing."

"That's it." He said suddenly, taking his phone out of his pocket. "I'm calling Lilith to get this whole mess straightened out."

Crap.


	9. Getting to Know You

Hello readers! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, I've been really focused on my Twilight fanfiction. Anyway. Here's another chapter. Multiple POV's just so you know.

Also, can anyone guess to what episode of Frasier I am referring to in the last chapter when Analeigh was conceived? Leave it in a review!

* * *

APOV

"No!" I said quickly. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"She doesn't know I'm here." I admitted. "She doesn't even know that I know about you being my father."

"Analeigh, this isn't something that can just be kept a secret. It shouldn't have been a secret in the first place." He said, dialing her number. "This needs to straightened out now."

I pulled my phone out and texted Diane telling her that she should just go back to Boston.

"Hello?" My mother answered. Frasier had the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Lilith it's Frasier."

"I know, I have caller ID." She said smugly.

"Very funny."He said sarcastically. "You wanna hear something else that's funny?"

"What?"

"Guess who is standing here with me right now."

"Who?" She sounded bored.

"Our daughter, Analeigh." He said. I could hear the anger in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me that I had a daughter?"

"Wait, Analeigh is in Seattle with you?" She asked. I could hear the anger in her voice. No hurt, just anger.

At that moment, it had finally registered what I had just done. I was in Seattle with the father I had never met. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. I listened to them argue and with each word they said, I felt a pain in my chest. What could have possibly possessed me to think that I could fly across the country and meet my father for the first time and everything work out without my mom finding out? This was all a terrible mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I tried to catch my breath but it only made the pain in my chest worse. I collapsed on the couch.

FPOV

I saw Analeigh collapse on the couch and realized what was happening.

"Lilith, I'm gonna need to call you back." I said quickly.

I ran to Analeigh's side and put my hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay, Analeigh." I said gently. "You're fine, calm down."

I looked into her eyes and she held my gaze for a few seconds until her breathing went back to normal.

"Sorry." She said slowly.

"Do you have panick attacks often?" I asked.

"Only when I'm stressed or scared or I start to worrying about something too much."

"Which one was it that time?"

"The last one."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"I have dysthymia. That's about it."

"Hm." I said, processing this information. "Well, your mother said that she'd be on the next possible flight here."

"Great." She said, less than thrilled.

"Well, she's not going to be here for about another eight hours or so." I offered. "How about you and me take a little walk?"

"Okay." She said with a small smile. Niles and Daphne, who were at her side, got up and went upstairs while we left.

We went out of the apartment and left the Montana. We walked along the sidewalk.

"So," I started. "What's your full name?"

"Analeigh Danielle Sternin." She said slowly.

"How do you spell that?" I wondered.

"A-n-a-l-e-i-g-h." She spelled.

"Wouldn't that be pronounced 'Ana-lee'?"

"No," She said as if this was one of the most ridiculous things she had ever heard. "It's like 'sleigh' but with out the 's'. Analeigh."

"That makes sense."

"I know." She smiled, sounding just like her mother.

We walked for a while, eventually we made it to Nervosa. She got a hot chocolate and we talked some more. After a while, she started to get more comfortable and soon she was the one doing most of the talking. She told me all about her school and her friends, her Speech and Debate team, the monolgue she was memorizing for the next tournament. She went on for about fifteen minutes about how much she loved her debate coach, Mrs. Culver. That amazed me because Fredrick never seemed to be so attached to a talked about how her school was going to be putting on a production of Chicago and that she would be playing the lead of Velma Kelly. She talked about how she loved showtunes and country music. She spent a while talking about her love of sign language and deaf culture and that she wanted to be an ASL interpreter.

I listened intently, taking in all of the information. I couldn't get over the sense of awe that I had when I looked at her. She had her mother's dark, curly hair and pale skin. At least her skin was capable of pigmentation, as shown by the mass of freckles on her cheeks and arms. She must have inherited her build from me, she wasn't as slim as Lilith, but by no means overweight. She did get her height from Lilith, though. She mentioned that she was only 5' 1". One thing that I couldn't get over was that she had my eyes.

The whole time I was listening to her, I couldn't get over this melancholy feeling that I had missed so much, so many milestones in her life. Of course it was all involuntarily.

I still didn't understand why Lilith would keep something like this from me. She managed for fifteen years to keep the existance of my own flesh and blood from me.

Eventually she looked at the clock at the wall and realized that it was almost two.

"I guess we should probably be getting back." I said.

"Yeah." She said as we started to walk out of the cafe. "I really enjoyed this, Frasier."

I don't know why it surprised me that she called me by my first name. It would be too formal to call me . She probably felt that it was too soon to start calling me 'Dad'. I didn't want to make her feel like she had to. I had to remember that I was still a stranger to her. And that killed me the most.

* * *

**Aww! Next chapter you'll get to hear Lilith's side of the story! Dun dun duuunnn!**


	10. Hot Seat

**Hey guys! Merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate it! I'd also like for it to be known that this chapter was written on the brand new laptop Santa brought me! Enjoy!**

* * *

**APOV**

We returned back to the Montana. Frasier opened the door for me and I walked in. Daphne was sitting on the couch with a little boy.

"Uncle Fraisier! You're back!" He exclaimed. "Where'd you go? Who's this?"

"Well, David." He said, sitting down. "I was taking a walk. This is your cousin."

"You mean like Frederick?" He asked.

"Yeah." Frasier said. "This is actually Frederick's little sister, Analeigh."

"Hi." David said. "I'm David."

"Hi." I said, more shyly than he did. "I'm Analeigh."

"Do you want to see what I got for Christmas?"

"Sure." I smiled with a shrug.

"Okay." He said excitedly. "Wait here!"

He proceeded to run up the stairs to wher I'm guessing his room was.

"He likes you." Daphne smiled, signaling for me to come sit next to her.

"It kinda seemed like that." I said awkwardly.

"It's strange." She said to Frasier. "When Lillith would come into town, I would get the worst headaches. But, with Analeigh, there's nothing. There's actually good feelings, in fact."

"I'm sure you're just imagining that, Daphne." He said, skeptically.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," Daphne said. "I'm a bit psychic."

"We've decided to find it charming." Frasier said quickly as David came back.

"Look!" He said. He started showing me each toy. He told me the name and what it did and how it worked.

"That's really cool." I said.

"What did you get for Christmas?"

"Actually, I don't celebrate Christmas." I said slowly. "I'm Jewish. So, we celebrate Hannukah."

"What's that?" He asked.

"I'll tell you later, dear." Daphne said. I was glad. I wasn't quite sure how to explain an entire religion to a five year old.

David showed me one of the video games he got for Christmas and asked me if I wanted to play. We played for a while. Daphne went to make dinner after a while, but Frasier continued to stay and watch us.

"Aw, you beat me again!" I said in defeat.

"Yay!"

"David," Daphne called from the kitchen. "I need you to pick up all of your toys and get washed up for dinner, please!"

"Yes, Mommy!" He called back.

I took the disc out of the game console and started wrapping up the cords to the controllers.

"You let him win didn't you?" Frasier asked with a smile.

"Yeah." I admitted. "I'm a boss at Mario Kart."

He laughed. There was a knock on the door.

"Frasier," Daphne called from the kitchen. " I think that that might be Martin and Ronee. Would you get that for me?

"I forgot they were coming over for dinner," He mumbled.

He got up and went toward the door while I took his seat on the couch.

"Hey, Dad! Ronee!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Fras!" The old man smiled. He took his coat and the woman's and hung them on the coat rack. Niles came down from his office.

"Dad!" He smiled. His face dropped quickly. "I see you brought Eddie."

"Of course I did!" He said. " David loves him."

He started walking toward the kitchen and then saw me. I looked at me for a few seconds before saying something.

"Who is this?" He asked Frasier.

"Well, Dad, it's kind of a long story." He said slowly.

"Bottom line it for me."

"This is Analeigh." He said. "She's my daughter."

"You're kidding!" He looked serious. "Who's her mom?"

"Lillith." Frasier winced.

"Lillith!" Martin exclaimed. "When did this happen? Did she just decide not to tell you?"

"Fifteen years ago. And, no. Lilith never told me."

"That witch decided to keep the existence of your own child from you?" He asked.

As soon as he said that I got up walked out of the apartment. I didn't even pause when Frasier called after me.

"Thank you, Dad." He said sarcastically. "That was just great."

I continued down the hallway, staring straight forward, never looking back. I didn't understand why everyone always had such mean things to say about my mother. Yeah, she can be a little intense sometimes. And I've noticed that a lot of people find her slightly intimidating. I just didn't understand how anyone could see her that way.

"Analeigh, please come back." Frasier said. He was following me down the hallway. I turned the corner.

"Analeigh," He groaned. "He didn't mean that."

"Yes he did." I snapped, turning on my heel to face him. "He meant every word."

"He was just caught off guard and he can a have a bit of a temper sometimes."

"And he hates my mom."

"Well, hate is a strong word-"

"That expresses how strongly he feels about my mother."

"Analeigh." He sighed. "Would you please just come back so we can try this again. I'm sure Daphne talked to him."

"Fine," I huffed.

"Thank you." He smiled.

We walked back down the hallway together. When we turned the corner, he put his arm over my shoulders. I still didn't understand how he could do that so naturally. How easily he accepted me as his daughter. I felt kinda bad that he had accepted me more as his daughter than I had him as my father.

When we got back to the apartment, Martin said his apologies and I told him ans Ronee my story. We ate dinner together. I slowly warmed up and contributed to the conversation. I still felt awkward though. I never was one for having conversations, especially with people I barely knew.

It got pretty late and my mom still hadn't arrived. Eventually, I decided to go to sleep. Everyone else was already asleep except for Frasier and myself. Martin and Ronee had left after dinner.

* * *

FPOV

Analeigh had fallen asleep on the love seat, pretty comfortably I might add. I looked at her, her red highlights in her hair becoming even more obvious in the glow of the flames from the fireplace. She had fallen asleep watching the flames and fingerspelling the names of the various objects around her. The apartment was nearly silent.

My phone buzzed telling me that Lillith was at the door. The last time she had texted she had landed in Seattle.

I opened the door.

"Lilith," I said. She didn't look like herself. She was in black slacks, a white sweater, and her hair was in a bun. It was loose with a few strands in her face.

"Is she alright?" She asked, brushing past me and into the apartment.

"Why wouldn't she be?" I was taken aback by her actions. I was expecting her to be angry and cold. Not as worried as she was now.

"Well, when we talked earlier this morning, you hung up in such as rush and you seemed concerned." She said, kneeling next to Analeigh and stroking her disheveled hair from her face. "My fist thought was that she was hurt."

"It was nothing." I shrugged. "She just had a minor panic attack."

"What?" She froze. " She had a panic attack and you say it was nothing? As a psychiatrist you should know that panic attacks are not something to sneeze at. God, I can't believe she even came all the way out here. I mean, the girl can barely decide what she wants for dinner every night. "

I had never seen Lilith so concerned. We had never really had to worry about Frederick because he tended to stay out of trouble. I wondered how many headaches Analeigh had caused her.

"Lilith, Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"It just seemed like the best option at the time." She said, getting up and sitting next to Analeigh.

"Forgive me, but I just don't understand how not telling me that I had a daughter was a good idea at all. Let alone the best one."

"Think about it Frasier." She sighed. "We had just gotten the divorce finalized. We had finally come to terms with the fact that there was no chance for us to be together again. We were finally moving on with our lives.

"I felt like if I told you, you would feel guilty and want to help me. Then you would have wanted for us to try and work things out. And it wouldn't have worked which would have made both of their lives even more dysfunctional. I figured raising Analeigh on my own would be best for everyone."

I sighed. I guess I could see how she thought it was a good idea.

"She told me she likes showtunes." I said nonchalantly. "What other kinds of things does she like?"

"All kinds of things." She chuckled. "Sign language, photography, the Addams Family, pretty much anything black, and- oh that reminds me!" She reached into her bag and puled something out. "She loves sock monkeys. I don't know why, but she does."

She took the sock monkey and placed it under Analeigh's arm.

"Well, I should probably meet Chris back at the hotel." She said, getting up. "I'll pick her up tomorrow morning."

"Actually Lillith," I said. "How about we all have dinner together tomorrow night? And she stay here until then?"

"Oh, well," She contemplated. "I guess I don't see anything wrong with that. Well, here's her medicine. One for the panic attacks and one for the depression I'm guessing she forgot to take it this morning so make sure she takes it in the morning."

"I will." I promised. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"I'll see you tomorrow."


	11. Family Feud

y guys! really happy with all the feedback I've been getting. (Crazy Writter, you were right!) in response to the question I asked, Analeigh was conceived in the episode of Frasier entitled "The Show Where Lilith Comes Back". That's one of my favorites, mainly because I idolize Bebe Neuwirth. Speaking of favorites, we all know that Frasier had quite a few relationships throughout his eleven years in Seattle. The girl he went after in Goodnight, Seattle, her name was Charlotte, am I right? Well, in this chapter we address the fate of that relationship. I hope you guys remember Claire from way back when!

Apov

I woke up the next morning, surprised to feel a sock monkey in my arms.

"Your mom stopped by last night." Frasier said. "She left that for you."

"So I see." I said.

"I made reservations at a restaurant for tonight." He said. "Your mom and Chris are going to meet us there so we can work some things out."

"Oh, okay." I said. "I didn't pack any nice clothes, though."

"Well, how about this," he said after thinking for a moment. "I could give you my debit card and you could call your mom or go out with Daphne and get something."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I just don't understand how you are so trusting with me. I mean, I've known my mom my whole life and she would never trust me with her debit card."

"Your mom and I are very different people."

"No kidding."

I ended up choosing Daphne, for numerous reasons. Daphne knew the city, so she would probably know where all of the best shops were. I also really liked her. She was one of those people that I just really wanted to get to know better. Also, my mom and I had clashing senses of style.

"What kind of things do you like to wear?"Daphne asked as we perused the racks of a small boutique.

"I don't like pastels. Pink and yellow are my least favorite colors." I said. "I really like black. Flashy, edgy kinda clothes."

"I see."

It didn't take long to find something. A sleek, simple black cocktail dress with some rhinestone accents. We were done shopping shortly after noon.

We ate lunch at a diner downtown. They still had tinsel garland on the ceiling and miniature Christmas trees on the counter top.

"Daphne?" I heard someone say. "Is that you?"

"Claire!" Daphne smiled and waved her over. "My God, it's been forever since I've seen you! How are you?"

"I'm doing great. And yourself?"

"Couldn't be better." She said. "Oh, and this is Analeigh, Frasier's daughter."

"Hi." I said shyly.

"Wow, his daughter?" She said. "I didn't know he had a daughter."

"Yeah, neither did he." I laughed.

"How is Frasier?" Claire asked.

"He's been doing okay. He got a job in San Francisco. He was dating a woman for a while before he left Seattle. He went and followed her to Chicago. Things just didn't work out. So, he took the job in California. He just hasn't had much luck in dating."

"Poor guy, I don't know why."

"Niles has tried helping him but he's so particular."

"Yeah, well hey, I've gotta run." She said. "We should get together sometime. Here's my number. Call me anytime, okay?"

"Okay, I will." Daphne smiled. "Bye, Claire."

"Bye, Daphne."

"How do you know her?" I asked. "If you don't mind telling me."

"Not at all." She said. "She's one of your father's ex girlfriends from way back."

"It sounds like he's got a lot of those."

"He does." She laughed.

We left the diner and headed back to the apartment.

Frasier told me that the reservations were at seven. That meant that we'd be leaving around six thirty to make it through traffic. Meaning I would start getting ready around five thirty.

David and I played Guitar Hero for a few hours until I had to get ready.

I went to the upstairs bathroom and got to work. I put my earbuds in and started doing my makeup.

I jumped a little when I heard a knock on the door.

"Analeigh," Frasier called. "Are you almost ready?"

"Uh," I said as I opened the door. "Yeah, I just need to put on some shoes. Daphne said she had a pair I could borrow."

"Wow," He said. "You look great."

"Thanks." I said awkwardly.

I slipped past him to go find Daphne. I walked down the hall and peaked into the master bedroom.

"Hey, come on in." She smiled. I did so and followed her into the walk in closet. "Flats or heels?"

"Heels, definitely." I said quickly.

"How high?"

"I've gone as high as five inches."

She looked through a few boxes and then smiled.

"I love these." She said as she handed them to me.

Satin peep toe pump stilettos. They had to be at least four and a half inches. They were perfect!

"I do, too." I said finally. I tried them on and luckily they fit.

"I'm glad you like them."

I put the other shoe on and walked around a little bit.

"I'm really glad I met you." I admitted.

"I am too." She smiled.

"Analeigh," Frasier called from downstairs. "We're gonna be late."

"Coming!" I replied. I turned back to Daphne and hugged her. "Bye."

"Goodbye, love." She said.

I went downstairs and Frasier and I went outside to the waiting cab.

When we got to the restaurant, I was nervous to see wat kind of mood my mom would be in. I could see her and Chris waiting inside. We walked inside.

"Hey there. My, don't you look nice?" My mother complimented. She smiled and pulled me into a hug. I gave Chris a confused look over my mom's shoulder.

"You're not mad at me?" I asked.

"I was." She said. "But, I thought about it and I could understand why you did it."

"Your table is ready Dr. Crane." the host said. He led us through the restaurant into an area that wasn't very crowded.

"So," Frasier said. "How was your shopping spree with Daphne?"

"It was great." I said. I figured Daphne would tell him about Claire later.

The waiter took our drink orders and then Mom got right down to business.

"I'm assuming that you're going to want visitation rights, am I correct?" She said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Of course." Frasier scoffed.

"Well," She said. "I don't see anything wrong with you coming to Boston and seeing her on her birthday. I want her home for Thanksgiving. And then I guess a few weeks over the summer. In Boston, of course."

"Lilith, I hardly think that's fair." Frasier rebuttled. "I mean, Frederick flew to Seattle and San Francisco on his own for most of his life."

"Well, that's different."

"How?" Frasier and I asked simultaneously.

Chris and I had been quiet up till now.

"I think it would be best if we worked all of that out later, with our lawyers present." Frasier said.

"Oh God." I groaned. "For real, Mom, Frasier, it shouldn't be this hard."

"How do propose this be handled?" Chris asked genuinely.

"Maybe about three weeks of my summer vacation spent with Frasier in California. Then, another week with Frasier, but in Seattle so I can see everyone here. Then the rest of the summer with my mom." I offered. "I think that it would only be fair to spend every other Thanksgiving with Frasier. Naturally, I'd spend Hannukah with Mom and then I spend Christmas with Frasier."

"But, you don't celebrate Christmas." My mom pointed out.

"Because I've never had reason to." I returned. "Then, I'd like to spend Spring Break with mom. Anytime in between that Frasier can come to Boston I'd like to be able to see him then also."

"That sounds reasonable." Chris agreed. "Lilith?"

"I guess so." She sighed.

"I think that's a great idea." Frasier said.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked.

"Yes." Frasier said. "I'd like to take the liberty of ordering for everyone if that's all right."

"Absolutely." The waiter said. I disagreed.

"We'll all have the filet mignon with the soup of the day."

"Wonderful choice, sir-"

"Yeah, actually," I interruppted before he could walk away. "Scratch that. They can have that, I want the grilled tilapia with rice pilaf and a caesar salad on the side. Thank you so much."

He wrote it down and I saw that both of my parents had shocked looks on their faces. Chris was stifling a laugh.

I got up and went to the restrooms. I could hear my mom behind me. I opened the door and leaned against the counter, no one was in there. My mom joined me a few seconds later.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I had red meat for lunch and it doesn't sit well with me."

"Is that all?"

"It also made me mad that he ordered for me." I admitted. "I've ordered my own food since I was seven."

"It's what he does."

"I think it's sign of control."

"Sometimes it's way too obvious that you were raised by a psychiatrist."


	12. Wise Words With Dr Sternin

Omigod guys! There is a marathon of Cheers all day long today on WGN! Best way to start the new year! Happy 2013!

Apov

We returned to the table and sat down just as the food was being served.

"Sorry, Frasier." I said as I sat down. I didn't try too hard to make it seem like I meant it. "I prefer to order for myself."

"My apologies, Analeigh." He said genuinely.

"Analeigh's always been pretty independant." My mother said. "She always hated it when she had to ask me for help on anything."

She continued to talk like that. Like I wasn't there.

"I remember one time," She started. "Her school was out so I brought her to work with me. I was trying to find a way to entertain her because she seemed so bored with the toys I had in my office.

"So, I was looking through a few of my files and found a list of hundreds of phobias and their meanings. She loved it."

"Mom," I groaned. "You really don't have to tell this story. Again."

"But it was so cute!" She smiled. "The whole day she went through the list, naming all of he phobias that she, Frederick, and I had."

"That's adorable." Frasier smiled.

"You put that in your book?" I asked, pushing my rice around with my fork. I raised my right eyebrow ever so slightly.

"I did actually." She responded with a smirk, her eyebrow also raised.

"So that's where Analeigh gets it from." Chris chuckled.

"What book?" Frasier asked.

"Mom wrote a book about me." I said, keeping eye contact with my mother.

"It's a book about raising an introverted child." She rolled her eyes. "Especially in comparison to simultaneously raising an extroverted child."

"I.E. Frederick and me." I said simply.

"What made you want to write a book about the subject?" Frasier asked.

"I actually had no intentions of it being published. It really just started out as notes of behavior patterns differences I noticed between her and Frederick's reactions to certain things."

They started talking in their strange psychologist language that I didn't understand. I realized how much I missed Adam, and how much I missed being able to talk to him through sign language. And the confused looks on my parents' faces when they couldn't understand what we were saying.

"You know, perhaps you guys should throw a little get together in celebration of the book's publication." Frasier suggested.

"I had been thinking about hat actually." Chris added.

"Don't you think that's a bit much?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Frasier returned.

"What I mean is," I started. "It's just another book. Mom's written lots of books and articles and papers before. We never throw a big party."

"Maybe we should start throwing a party every time Lilith writes a book." Chris smiled. "I think it would be a great thing to celebrate."

"Hey," my mom said with a smile. "Didn't Mrs. Culver want you to write a short story for the school literary magazine?"

"Yeah." I said sowly.

"Oh, really?" Frasier smiled with delight. "What's it about?"

"Yeah," My mom said. "You never told me what you decided on."

"I was trying to think of something original." I said. "I've been spending some time with Adam and he gave me some inspiration."

"Who's Adam?" Frasier asked.

"That's Analeigh's little boyfriend." Chris joked.

"No." I said pointedly. "He's Sam's nephew. He's gonna be living with him for a while. He's deaf."

"Really?" Frasier asked.

"Yeah." I said. "I really enjoy talking to him. It also helps me practice my signing. Anyway, I was thinking about doing a piece through the point of view of a deaf person."

"Interesting." My mom said. "You'll have to let me read it when your done."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." I laughed.

"Deal." She smiled.

We finished up dinner and left the restaurant.

"Mom, do you think I could stay with Frasier for one more night?" I asked.

"Well, I guess so, since your stuff's still over there." She shrugged. "But, if you need anything, you have both mine and Chris' numbers. Here is the name of the hotel we're staying at."

She wrote down the information down on a scratch peice of paper from her purse.

"Okay, I got it." I smiled and gave her a hug. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"Bye, Chris." I smiled as I followed Frasier.

"Bye, Ana."

Frasier and I walked down the sidewalk and he pulled me close to him and put his arm around me. I appreciated it this time. It felt comforting. And it was really cold. He hailed a taxi and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, we were back at the Montana.

I walked into the apartment behind Frasier.

"Frasier, Analeigh," Daphne greeted. "Frasier, guess who I have in the kitchen."

"Who?"

"Hi Frasier." Claire came into the livingroom.

"Claire," He looked surprised, but happy. "What are you doing here?"

"Daphne and I were just talking. We ran into each other today."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Frasier turned to me.

"I didn't think it was important." I shrugged. He sighed.

"I'll just go upstairs and check on David." Daphne said.

"I'm gonna go change." I said. "Oh, Daphne, here are your shoes."

I took them off and handed them to her.

"Thank you, dear."

I grabbed my bag and went into the bathroom. I took my time changing and taking off my makeup. I brushed out my hair and pulled it back in a bun. Quite frankly, I looked like I had just stepped out of a meth lab. I slipped out of the bathroom and saw that Frasier and Claire and left, presumably to the kitchen.

I pressed my ear against the door gently and listened in.

"I was really surprised to see that you had a daughter." She said. "You never mentioned her."

"Because I didn't know." He laughed.

"How?"

"My ex wife and I had a regrettable night." He laughed. I wasn't laughing. "It was all a big mistake."

Suddenly I felt tears in my eyes. Mistake? A big mistake? A regrettable night?

I bit back the tears and silently slipped out the front door o he apartment. I slipped on my sneakers and hailed taxi. I gave the driver the name of the hotel my mom and Chris were staying at.

I walked past the front desk and found the room. I had lost control of the tears in the cab. I wiped the tears from my face as I knocked on the door. I had to knock multiple tmes before I heard someone unlocking the door.

"Yes? Oh my God, Analeigh!" She said, when her eyes adjusted to the light in the hallway. "Are you okay? Come in, baby."

"I'm sorry I woke you." I said.

"It's fine." She said, sitting down on the couch. I sat down next to her. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Was I a mistake?" I asked through the tears. "You know, Frederick told me that a couple of times-"

"No, no, no." She pulled me close and I buried my face in her hair. She pulled her feet up started stroking my hair. "Why would you think that?"

"I heard Frasier talking to someone and he said that you guys had a - and I quote- 'regrettable night' and that the whole thing was a 'big mistake'."

"You were not a mistake. An accident, maybe. A surprise, absolutely." She looked me in the eyes. "But not a mistake."

"What's the difference?" I sobbed.

"An accident is just something you didn't expect to happen. But, a mistake is something you regret doing." She hugged me tighter. "And I never regret having you."

"Really, Mom?"

"Really." She said. "You have made me a better person, in my opinion."

"How?"

"I've definitely become more patient." She laughed. "And, before you, I never was one to do a lot of hugging."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because you can be a real pain in the-"

"No," I laughed. "I mean, why do you think I changed your position on physical affection?"

"Well, you seemed to yearn for it more." She laid her cheek on top of my head. "Frederick liked it, but you were always running and hugging me when I got home from work. You would just lay in my lap on the couch while you watched TV and I looked over some files.

"I remember when you would climb in my bed for no reason but to be there."

"Yeah," I said. "I remember that."

"It's been quite the experience to raise you so far," She smiled. "But, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Analeigh."


	13. The Thought Process

Hello lovelies! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter! Here's another one, from a new POV, Lilith! I love her, hence my username, and I love sweet mother /daughter moments like we had in the last chapter. I've been on a Bebe Neuwirth/ Lilith Sternin tumblr spree. Here's another chapter!

LPOV

I laid on the small, sea foam green couch of the hotel room. Chris was asleep, snoring on the bed. Analeigh was in my arms, fast asleep.I wiped her tear- stained cheeks. I couldn't believe that Frasier said that, that she was a mistake. My heart broke when I opened up the door to see her crying.

I thought back to all of the times when I had wanted to tell Frasier about her. The numerous times that I had visited Seattle; whether for a conference, to drop off Frederick, the time that Frasier and I had worked on a paper together, or when I had asked Frasier for his sperm. Or when he would call and talk to Frederick, when he came over for Thanksgiving. I wonder how things would have played out differently if I had told Frasier about Analeigh from the beginning.

_It was a Saturday. Frederick was at a friend's house for the afternoon. I was pacing my bedroom anxiously._

_It had been a month since my trip t Seattle to see Frasier in hopes of reconciliation. The only good thing that had come out of that trip was that we had both realized that we didn't belong together. Right when I finally thought that I could just forget about the whole ordeal, I realized that I was late. I was never late. I had only been late one time before in my life and that was when I had become pregnant with Frederick._

_I assumed the worst. How could I have let this happen? This wasn't supposed to happen! I wasn't ready to be a mom again, I was doing good just raising Frederick right now. I was doing my best raising my son on my own, how was I going to be able to balance raising not only him but an infant as well? _

_Lilith, pull it together. You don't even know if it's positive yet. You could just be panicking for no reason. _

_I still had eight more minutes to go before the test would be ready. I continued to pace the floor of my bedroom while I waited. So many thoughts raced through my mind. But, one made me stop._

_How was I going to tell Frasier? We had just decided that we weren't good for each other. We had just gotten on with our lives. The divorce was final, he lived across the country. Everything would be thrown into chaos again if we threw a baby into the mix._

_I shook the thought out of my mind. I would cross that bridge when I got to it. As of right now, there was no need to worry about that. For all I knew, I was just overreacting for no reason._

_I looked at the clock, five more minutes left. I sat on my bed and sighed. I grabbed a sudoku puzzle book to distact myself. _

_I jumped when the timer went off._

_Moment of truth. Whatever happens, everything will be all right. Everything will work out. Everything is going to be all right._

_I slowly got up and walked toward the bathroom. I closed my eyes and picked up the pregnancy test. After taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and looked at the test._

_ I had never been one to get scared very easily. There were very few things that scared me. I never expected for something so simple to scare the hell out of me: a plus sign. A plus sign on a white stick. _

_I slowly sank to the ground, still staring at the test._

_I was...pregnant. It was true. I was having a baby. There was no question about that. I would never be able to forgive myself if I were to abort the was I going to do?_

_I reached for my phone and dialed Frasier's number with shaky fingers. My thumb hovered over the talk button. I couldn't tell Frasier. We had just gotten everything sorted out. Life was finally getting back to normal. If he found out that I was pregnant with his child, he would want to help me. It would all be out of guilt, though. He had just started a new life across the country. He seemed so happy, I couldn't take that from him. I refused to take away his happiness again. _

_So, I guess I'm on my own with this one._

I was taken out of my memory when I felt Analeigh stirring in my arms. I carefully got up from the couch. I grabbed a spare blanket from the linen closet and draped it over her. I kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair.

"Good night, Analeigh." I whispered.

I got back in bed with Chris and went to sleep.

I was woken up by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost eleven. I picked up my phone and saw Frasier's name on the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Lilith, please tell me that Analeigh over there with you."

"She is." I stated simply. "Would you please tell me why my daughter came over here in tears asking me if she was a mistake."

"What are you talking about?" He asked. I told him what Analeigh told me. "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"Well, that's how she took it." I said.

"Would you please let me talk to her?"

"Frasier, she's asleep. You can talk to her tomorrow when she picks up the rest of her things."

"Who are you talking to?" Chris asked, groggily.

"It's Frasier." I whispered to him.

"Lilith, please don't take her because of this." Frasier pleaded.

"Frasier, we would have been leaving tomorrow whether this had happened or not." I explained. "Chris is throwing a New Year's party tomorrow and Analeigh needs to get readjusted to Eastern time. Not to mention that Frederick and Krysta are still at the house."

"Oh, right." He muttered.

"We'll be over there around two." I said.

"Okay." He said.

And with that, he hung up.

"What was that about?" Chris asked. "What's Analeigh doing over here?"

I explained to him what had happened.

"I see." He said.

"I wonder if I made a mistake." I said.

"You mean about Analeigh?" He asked with a shocked look on his face.

"No, no, no." I said quickly. "I mean about keeping her from Frasier."

"Lilith," He said, taking me in his arms. "It is what it is. There's no sense in thinking about what could have been."

"I guess you're right." I sighed.


	14. Farewell, Seattle

Hello hello hello! I'm very disappointed in the lack of reviews I received. Anyway, here's another chapter. I know it's kind of on the short side, but I think it's a pretty good one. I would like to inform you guys that we will be wrapping this story up in a couple more chapters.*Billy Mays impression* BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! If you guys would like, my imagination has so much more in store for these characters. So, if you would like us to come back for a second season, then LEAVE ME A REVIEW.

Also on a little side note, I sent an email to one of the publicists at NBC Entertainment (you know since they produced Frasier) and I told them about this little fanfiction and that I personally thought that it would make a wonderful TV show. I gave them the basic plot line and a few key details. However, I have not heard anything back yet and it's been about two days. If anyone knows a really great way to get in touch with NBC( or a related channel) then please oh please send me a private message. Anyway, fingers crossed that I'll get something back. Even a rejection letter, that would be fine too. Anyway, enough of me, on to the story!

FPOV

I sat on the couch, wallowing in guilt. I was so stupid to say that that night was a mistake. I felt terrible that Analeigh had taken it the way she did. I was a fool not to realize what she had realized so quickly. That if that night hadn't turned out he way it had, she never would have been born.

I could hear Daphne, Niles, and Dad in the kitchen. Ronee had taken David to the park. It was a a few minutes past two when there was a knock on the door. I rushed to it and opened the door. There stood Analeigh, Lilith and Chris.

"Analeigh, I'm so happy to see you." I said, pulling her into a hug. "I was so worried."

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Please, come in." I said, stepping aside so that they could enter. I sat down on the couch and Analeigh sat next to me. "Analeigh, I want you to know that you were by no means a mistake."

"I know, Mom told me."

"Right." I smiled. "And I also want you to know that even though I've only known you for a few days, I love you. And I want to be able to make up for the time I've missed. If that's all right with you, Lilith."

"Of course." She nodded. "Once we get back to Boston, I'll see about us getting together with our lawyers to get everything worked out."

"Good."

"Frasier," She said. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I never told you about Analeigh. I was just scared and worried and-"

"I know." I interrupted. "And, I'm willing to forgive and forget. Water under the bridge."

"Thank you."

"Aww." I heard Daphne squeal from the kitchen.

"Daph!' Dad reprimanded her.

"You guys can come in if you'd like." I called.

They all rushed through the door. Daphne was the fastest and she didn't hesitate to give Analeigh a hug.

"I love a happy ending." I heard her say.

"Lilith, it's good to see you again." Dad said. "Who's this?"

"Martin, this is Chris, my... well, um-"

"Boyfriend." Analeigh finished for her. "I don't understand why you have such reservations on calling him that."

"My boyfriend." She repeated, turning back to Dad. "However, surely you can understand my surprise at your civility. Especially in in light of the recent events."

"Like Frasier said, water under the bridge." He grinned his usual cheeky grin.

"Martin," Analeigh said. "I would like to thank you for trying to make up for what you said the other night by attempting small talk with my mother. That means a great deal to me."

Seeing them side by side, I realized just how much Analeigh and Lilith were alike. Their likeness in appearance was obvious, besides the fact that Analeigh dressed slightly more casual than her mother. But, I had never had the chance to realize how similar they were in personality. They were both very uncomfortable making small talk; Lilith had always been one for deep meaningful conversations. Their mannerisms were nearly identical. It wasn't much of a surprise once I thought about it. Lilith was, for the most part, the only parental figure Analeigh had had to look up to during her developmental years. Analeigh had a habit of correcting other people's grammar. I had also noticed that Analeigh, like her mother, enjoyed using large vocabulary words. I've always thought that that was something Lilith did to make herself feel more comfortable to make up for her social awkwardness.

"Analeigh, when do you go back to school?" Daphne asked.

"A week from over morrow." She replied.

"What is 'over morrow'?"

"Oh, over morrow is a poecilonym for 'the day after tomorrow'."

"What is a poecilonym?" Niles interjected.

"A poecilonym is a synonym for the word synonym."

"Ah." Niles nodded with an impressed expression. "I'll have to add that one to my vocabulary."

Eventually, Chris reminded Lilith of the time their flight took off so we were quick with our goodbyes. We exchanged phone numbers as she told each of us goodbye individually. She said goodbye to Niles and Daphne first.

"Tell David that I'll see him soon." She said as Daphne gave her another hug.

"I will. Take care, dear." Daphne smiled as she released her.

"Goodbye, Martin." Analeigh said.

"You know, you can call me 'Grandpa'. You know, if you want to."

"Maybe one day." She said slowly.

Then she turned to me. I suddenly felt sad. I knew it was a little silly, I mean it's not like I'm never going to see her again. But, I was still sad to see her go.

"If you ever need anything, or you just want to talk, don't hesitate to call me. Day or night." I said, also giving her a hug.

"I will."

"I love you, Analeigh."

"I love you,too, Frasier." She said.

I let her go and the three of them left to go to the airport. I sighed as I looked forward to the day that she would call me "Dad".


	15. The Name of the Game

I know it's been forever since I updated, I've been thinking about this chapter a lot. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to end this story, but if you guys want a sequel/ second season, please leave it in a review or PM.

APOV

We boarded the plane and found our seats. My mom had given me my punishment on the way to the airport.

When I went back to school, I wasn't going to be allowed to go to Cheers for two weeks. It wasn't as bad as I had expected, but I was still bummed.

The plane ride went by fairly quickly, I listened to music most of the time. We landed in Boston and took a cab home.

I had only been gone for a couple of days, but it still felt strange to be back in Boston.

Frederick and Krysta were still at the house when we got home. I grabbed my bag out of the back of the cab and headed inside. I walked in the back door and Frederick came down the stairs.

"You are so crazy, you know that?" Frederick said as he met me in the kitchen.

"Good to see you, too." I replied.

"What would possess you to think that flying across the country by yourself was a good idea?"

"Frederick, I'm tired and I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?"

I pushed past him and went upstairs to my room. I threw my duffel bag on floor next to my bed, not even bothering to unpack it. I took my BlackBerry out of the front pocket and saw that the light was blinking.

I unlocked the screen and saw that I had a new voicemail from Frasier.

"Hey, Analeigh, I tried calling you but you probably didn't hear your phone on the plane. I just wanted you to know that I miss you already and that I can't wait to see you again.

"Your mom has my email address if you ever want to email me, you know, I'd love to hear from you." There was a pause. "Um, well, I just wanted to tell you that I love you. Okay, bye."

I smiled at his awkward signoff. I decided to text him back.

"Hey, Frasier. I just checked my phone and I got your voicemail. Thanks for telling me, I'll check with mom about getting your email address. Love you, talk to you later, Analeigh." I hit send and went downstairs.

Frederick and Krysta probably went out for dinner, while Mom and Chris were curled up on the couch watching "JEOPARDY!". I slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a Vanilla Coke out of the fridge.

I poured it into a glass and leaned on the doorframe between the kitchen and the livingroom. "JEOPARDY!" had ended and another gameshow was on, "The Newlywed Game".

I watched as the contestants answered their questions, while Mom and Chris also answered them. It was kinda weird, watching them answer the questions. They got most of them right.

My mom always seemed so happy when Chris was around. Not that she wasn't happy with Frederick and me, but a different kind of happy with Chris.

Then I remembered the night Adam came to dinner with us at Melville's. I was so scared that Chris was going to propose. Maybe, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he did. I mean, yeah in the back of my mind it would be great if my mom and Frasier got back together, but I knew that was never going to happen. They had been divorced for nearly sixteen years, if it hadn't happened yet, it wasn't ever going to happen. My mom and Chris had been together long enough that they might as well be married.

I finished my drink and went back upstairs. I unpacked my clothes and hung up the dress that Frasier had bought me. After taking a shower and putting my on my pajamas, I went back down the stairs to the living room.

My mom had fallen sleep on Chris' shoulder.

"Goodnight." I said quietly. Chris looked up, he must not have heard me come down. He took a second, like he wanted to say something, but it looked like he decided against it.

"Goodnight, Ana." He smiled.

I went back upstairs and went to bed.

The next day, I got up around eleven and headed to Cheers. Of course, everyone was already there.

"Analeigh!" Sam greeted as I walked through the door.

"Hey Uncle Sammy!" I returned. I hopped up on the counter and grabbed a Vanilla Coke from the mini fridge behind the bar. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good." He shrugged.

"Pretty _well._" I corrected. He repeated the sentence correctly this time.

"Hey, would you mind not sitting on the counter?" He asked. "It makes me nervous."

"Why?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm scared you're gonna fall. And if you got hurt, your mom would never let me hear the end of it." He said, filling up Norm's beer mug.

"Yeah, Analeigh." Norm piped in. "There's a reason your name isn't 'Grace'."

"Oh, well aren't you funny?" I said sarcastically. "I'll have you know that my balance is great."

"I don't think so." He said with a shake of his head.

"I beg to differ." I started to get up. "I bet you twenty bucks that I could walk the banister of this bar, by myself, all the way around."

"Really?"

I grabbed a twenty out of my jacket pocket and laid it on the bar. "Really."

"You're on."

"Norm, don't encourage her!" Sam argued. "Lilith will have my head if she gets hurt."

"You act like I'm a porcelain doll." I scoffed. I hopped down from the bar and laid my jacket on the nearest chair. "Carla!"

"What?" She answered, coming back in from the pool room. Adam was with her.

"We have a little wager going and I thought you might want in." I explained the bet to her.

"My money's on you kiddo." She chuckled. A few more regulars placed their bets, while Cliff was trying to explain the physics of how it was going to work.

In the end, there was a total of two hundred dollars in the pot. Carla and Adam were the only ones to side with me. Sam had opted not to partake in the wager.

"Adam," I asked. " I don't think I will, but will you walk along side the bar with me in the rare event that I should fall?"

"Sure." He smiled. Sam decided to walk on the other side as well.

I stepped up on a stool and started my walk from the back right side. I placed one foot in front of the other, carefully but fairly quickly. I smirked at Norm as I passed his seat on the corner. The entire bar was silent as they watched. I walked along the long side of the banister and no one dared to say a word, as if the sound vibrations may knock me over. I rounded the shorter side and started to slow down. Then I heard the door open, the silence was shattered.

"Analeigh Danielle Sternin, what in God's name are you doing?" I heard my mother exclaim. I could see from my peripheral vision that she was walking toward me, with Chris behind her.

I sped up but kept my balance. "I would love to discuss that with you, Mother. But, I really need to finish this."

"I don't think so!" She returned. "You get down right this instant!"

I rounded the last corner and finished my walked. I took a bow as everyone cheered. I took Adams' hand as he helped me down.

"Why on Earth were you up there?" My mother screeched.

"I was just having some fun. Norm and I were having a conversation and-"

"And somehow it led to you walking on a thin railing around the perimeter of the bar? Analeigh, I don't understand you sometimes."

I know, I thought to myself.

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry."

"Good." She said. "That was very dangerous and you could have gotten hurt."

I was about to argue that Sam and Adam were ready to catch me should I fall, but I decided against it.

"Yes ma'am." She turned her focus off of me and on to Sam. I hung back with Adam.

"Sam, has that order come in for the party tonight?" She asked.

"I just talked to the company, it should be here later this afternoon."

"She has no sense of fun." I signed silently to Adam.

"You could have gotten hurt though." He shrugged.

"I had faith that if I did fall, you would be there to catch me." I admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah." I affirmed. "I don't know why, but I trust you, Adam."

"Thanks."

I smiled at him.

"What's with this party your mom and Chris are throwing?" He asked. "I don't know anyone who has put this much effort into a New Year's party."

"I don't know." I shrugged. "My mom has never been one to throw a big party. It's mainly Chris' idea. A lot of their colleagues will be there, maybe a few of their friends outside of that. However, even he hasn't gone this over the top."

"Maybe he's planning something." Adam said with a mischievous smile.

"Don't even finish that thought." I said with a light laugh.

"I'm just saying, why else would he?"

"What are you two talking about?" My mom asked with a confused expression as she walked over. I had to think quickly.

"Well..." I stalled. "I was just about to ask Adam if he would like to come to the party tonight. If that's okay with you."

I interpreted for Adam what I had just said.

"Um, I don't know..."

"Of course he can!" Chris chimed in. "What's one more person? The more the merrier."

"Well?" I asked Adam.

"Sure." He smiled.

"Well then, we'll see you tonight." Chris smiled warmly. "Nice to see you again, Adam."

"You too, sir." He spoke this time.

"I'll see you tonight then." I signed.

"See you tonight." I loved hearing his voice.

I left with my mom and Chris to help get everything set up and in order for the party.


	16. Making Plans

This one's a little bit shorter, but hopefully the next one will be up sooner and be longer.

APOV

My mom was going nuts making sure everything was in order. The party was going to be held in the ballroom of a local hotel. My mom was calling everyone under the sun to make sure all of the decorations, the food, the music, and everything was in order. My mom left the house to go checkout the venue and make sure everything was going according to plan. Krysta and Frederick had very cleverly found a way to sneak out of the line of fire. We probably wouldn't see them again until the actual party.

"Hey, Analeigh," Chris called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes?" I came to the head of the stairs so that I could see him.

"Do you wanna come with me to pick up some stuff for the party?"

"Uh, sure, I guess so."

We got in his car and drove into town. I didn't really pay attention to where we were going, I was focused on listening to the radio. Chris was making small talk as we rode, to which I politely humored him and answered his questions. I finally took in my surroundings when I felt the car stop as he parked. We were outside a jewelry shop.

"What do you need from here?" I asked slowly.

"Analeigh, " He said with a small smile. "You know that your mom and I have been together for quite a while, right?"

"Oh my God." I said, as the realization of what he was saying finally set in.

"Analeigh, I love your mom. And you and Frederick, too. To me, you might as well be my own children." He said. "I mean, not that I'm trying ot replace your dad or anything. But, what I'm trying to say is-"

"You're gonna propose to my mom tonight." I finished for him.

"The reason I brought you here with me, without your mom, is because I wanted to talk to you about it first." He explained. How could I object to that?

"Have you talked to Frederick about this?" I asked, not making eye contact.

"No." I looked up. I wasn't expecting him to say that. "I figured that I would let him be surprised with everyone else. But, you're gonna be in the house for the next couple of years, and I know how much you care about your mom.

"I know you worry about her. I can tell that you're pretty protective of her. And I know how much she loves and cares about you. I don't know if you know this, but Analeigh, you are your mother's world. That's why she was so panicked when she saw you walking that beam earlier. Analeigh, what I'm trying to say is that I want your blessing before I go through with this. I want to know that you're okay with this, that you are willing to accept me into your family."

"I gotta admit, I like that you're giving me this sense of power and seniority. Like, 'I was here first'. " I laughed. "Honestly,you guys have been together so long that sometimes I forget that you aren't already married."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Does that mean that you're officially going to move in with us, or are we gonna buy a new house? Because I know that we're not moving into your apartment." I asked.

"We'll just have to talk about that and see what your mother thinks." He said with a satisfied smile. "Now, how about we go pick out this ring?"

We got out of the car and went into the jewelry shop.

"What do you think?" He said, pointing to a ring in the display case.

It was simple. It had a gold band and a single diamond. It was a good sized diamond, there was no argument about that. But, it just kinda blended in with the rest of them.

"No." I said decidedly.

"Why not?"

"It's so plain. I know my mom doesn't like really flashy stuff, but this is an engagement ring. It's different." I explained. "I've looked through my mom's jewelry box before; that looks just like her other two engagement rings."

"Gotcha."

"So, since I'm sure you want to break the cycle and be with her forever, let's try switching it up." I concentrated on the display case, looking for inspiration.

It needed to be beautiful. It needed to be different and unique. It needed to be representative of her personality. It needed to mean something.

"I've got it!" I exclaimed with excitement. "I'm sorry, that was really loud."

"Which one?" Chris asked.

"That one,please." I asked the jeweler. "Thank you."

He handed me the ring and I examined it more closely. It was perfect!

"Look," I said to Chris. "Three white diamonds; each year you've been together. Then, there are the two sapphires in between the outer diamonds and the center diamond; Frederick and me. And, I personally like the silver band over the , that's just me."

He looked at it for a second, taking the ring and thinking about it. "That is pretty perfect." He smiled.

Luckily, they had the ring in her size and we were able to walk out with it. As we walked out of the shop, Chris' phone rang.

"Hello," he answered. "Oh, Lilith. Yes, dear. Yes, everything is all right." He chuckled.

Looking back, I don't know why I was so worried that he might propose. This was probably going to be the best thing to happen to my mom.

Well, besides me, of course.


	17. New Beginnings

Chris dropped me off by the house to get ready and hen headed to his apartment to change. Frederick and Krysta had gotten back not too long after I did and Mom was soon to follow. I went into my room and closed the door. I changed into some sweats and slipped on my sock monkey slippers. I grabbed my iPod and listened to my playlist of show tunes while I did my makeup.

I brushed and curled my hair lightly. I was slow and careful as I put it on, making sure that the brush went where I wanted and that the makeup looked how I intended. I kept my hand steady as I painted on my liquid eyeliner, making sure it winged out at the right angle and the right thickness. I opened up the door and walked down the hall to brush my teeth before putting on my lipstick. As I walked by my mother's room, I saw her walk out of her closet with a dress and she laid it on her bed.

"Please tell me you're not really planning on wearing that." I said with a glance towards the dress.

"I thought you liked that one." She looked confused.

"It's fine when you're going out to dinner with your colleagues, but this is a party. You are not going to wear polyester." I said as I walked into her closet.

I had to venture pretty far back just find clothes with some sparkle. It amazed me that she had all of these beautiful cocktail dresses and she chose to wear a bland,black, knee length, polyester dress. Eventually, I found something.

"Look, this one's similar but it has more pizzazz." I said, doing a little shimmy on the last word.

"You think I'm going to wear sequins and mesh cutouts?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's not sleeveless and the neckline is pretty line is fairly modest." I pointed out. "It's not that bad. Just humor me, okay?"

"Okay." She sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you!" I smirked. "Now, sit down while I do your makeup."

"Who said you were doing my makeup?"

"I thought that was understood." I said.

We stared at each other for a moment, waiting to see who would give in first. Finally, my mother sat down at her vanity. I took her makeup out of her drawer and started thinking about what I would do. I decided on a subtle smokey eye with a cut-crease. My mom was so difficult when it came to makeup, I never understood why.

"Mom, stop squinting." I huffed. "It makes the eyeliner go on crooked."

Finally, I had finished.

"You're free." I said. She opened her eyes and looked in the mirror.

"Thank you, dear." She smiled.

I went to brush my teeth and then put my lipstick on like I had originally intended to do before I was distracted by my mother's wardrobe faux pas. I went back into my room and changed into a red one shoulder lace cocktail dress and nude pumps. I grabbed my phone and my camera so that I could capture the big moment on film.

I went downstairs and saw Frederick sitting on the couch, waiting for Krysta.

"Frederick, you're looking dapper." I said as I plopped down on the couch.

"Same to you Analeigh." He smiled.

"You excited to get married?"

"That's months away."

"Cold feet?"

"No." He scoffed. "I just don't see the point in talking about something that isn't in the immediate future."

Krysta finally came down in a Kelly green silk cocktail dress. The green really looked good with her blonde hair.

"Aw, Analeigh, you are so beautiful." And she ruined it.

"You sound surprised."

"That color looks really good on you." She said. You could practically see the lightbulb flash above her head. "Maybe I should make the bridesmaids dresses that color."

"That's a great idea, dear." Frederick said. "Oh, look! Chris is here. Well, we'll see you there."

"'Kay, bye." I said as they walked out. Chris came in right after they left.

"Hey, you look fantastic!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, quickly changing the subject. "Do you know what you're going to do tonight?"

"I figured I'd just get up on the stage like I was about to make a toast and then pop the question."

"You're missing an obvious, perfect opportunity here." I sighed. "You wait till midnight when we're all watching the ball drop. As everyone's counting down, you get ready. As soon as everyone yells 'Happy New Year' and starts singing, you get down on one knee and ask her then."

"You're a genius, what would I do without you?"

"I don't know." I said. At that moment my mom came down the stairs.

"You look gorgeous, Lilith." Chris smiled.

"Thank you." We both said with a laugh.

We got in Chris' Mercedes and headed tp the hotel. By the time we got there, the party had already started. Chris handed the keys to the valet and we headed inside. I walked ahead of them into the ballroom.

The lights were still on and the light jazz was playing softly. Not at all how I had pictured it. I shook my head and sighed. Apparently I had to do everything.

I walked up to the stage and tapped the foot of he guitar player.

"Let's turn it up a knotch." I said. "This iis a party, after all."

"You got it, babe."He smirked. I walked over to the wall and dimmed the lights a little bit.

I walked over to the refreshment table and saw Uncle Sam leading some broad to the dance floor.

"Sam," I said, grabbing his shoulder. "Do you know where Adam is?"

"Last time I checked he was in he kitchen helping Carla pour champagne."

I walked back to the kitchen.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked. "This is a party and we hired caterers for a reason."

"I'm fine is here." Carla smiled.

"Well, suit yourself. I just know that Chris has a lot of single doctor friends out there-"

"See you later." She practically raced out of the kitchen.

"Come on." I smiled, leading Adam out to the dancefloor.

We got out and the band was playing classic rock. Adam spun me around and we both laughed. He might not have been able to hear the music, but h could feel the vibrations. To my surprise, he was really good dancer. We danced for a few songs and slowly made our way out of the ballroom.

We walked down the hallway of the hotel, no idea where we were going. We wandered around for a while, talking and laughing about various topics. Eventually, we could hear the music again. We took a left and found the pool. It was indoor so we wouldn't have to go out in the cold.

The music had slowed down.

"May I have this dance?" He smirked, holding out his hand.

I took his hand and we slowly swayed to the rhythm of the music. I looked up at him and he looked at me. There was this look in his eyes, I couldn't tell exactly what was. He started to lean closer to me and I was about to do the same when I heard my phone ringing.

I rushed over to the lounge chair and fished through my purse for my phone. It was the alarm I had set to remind me when it was close to midnight. It was 11:50.

"I have to go." I said. "I'm sorry."

"What's the rush?" He laughed.

"Chris is going to propose to my mom at midnight." I sighed. "I want to be there to take a picture."

"Well, you might want to hurry if you're gonna find them."

I walked out of he pool room and down the hallway. I followed a sign that pointed to the ballroom.

I walked in and looked around. I saw Sam in corner talking to women, neither of hem the one he was with earlier.

"Sam!" I called. "Have you seen my mom and Chris?"

"Uh, last time I saw them, your mom was getting the TV hooked up to watch the ball drop."

"No!" I said. "You go do that. She needs to be with Chris."

"Why?"

"I don't have time to explain." I sighed as I walked off.

I walked toward the tv and found my mother as she was walking away.

"Mom, where are you going?" I asked frantically.

"I'm going to go lead the countdown on the stage-"

"No!" I said quickly. "I mean, no. Go find Chris. I'll get someone to lead it."

"Analeigh, what is the matter with you?"

"Nothing's wrong. Go find Chris, I'll get someone to lead the countdown."

"What is wrong with me leading it?"

"Mom, just trust me, okay? You're wasting time. Go find Chris!"

I rushed off and looked for someone to lead the countdown.

"Norm!" I called in panic.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to lead the countdown when the ball drops." I knew it was a bad idea, but I had no other options.

"Okay." He said. It helped that he had a few drinks in him.

We had less than a minute now. I grabbed my camera out of my purse and went to find my mom and Chris.

They were near the front of the crowd.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven," Everyone cheered. I watched the ball drop on the TV screen. It was beautiful as always.

"Six, five, four!" I watched Chris. I saw him get nervous as he reached into his pocket. I got my camera ready and aimed it on them.

"Three, two one!" He took the ring box out. "Happy New Year!"

Noise makers clapped and whistled ad confetti fell as Chris got down on one knee. Everyone cheered and kissed each other. My mother's face was priceless.

He opened the box and he didn't even have to say anything.

Her hands flew to her mouth and tears of joy flowed from her eyes. I took the picture at that moment. It was perfect, exactly how I imagined it.

As I admired the picture, I felt hands on my shoulders. Suddenly I saw Adam. He turned me toward him and leaned me over as he kissed me on the lips.

I melted and wrapped my arm around his neck. I kissed him back and the strangest feeling ran through my body. I couldn't tell if he fireworks were outside in the sky or if they were in my heart.

This concludes season one of Analeigh Sternin Crane.


	18. Author's Note

Hello lovelies! I have only gotten one review on the last chapter, just reminding you to leave a review on that one. Also, you might have possibly just happened to glance over and notice the cover of this story. I made it on Polyvore, however Fanfiction is being a jerk and wowon't let my beautiful cover size correctly. So, if you would like to see the entire cover, and some visual aid of some of the outfits in the story, you can n go to my profile where I have a link to my Polyvore acct!


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